Object carrier for wrapping machine



P 17, 1956 c. OUELLETTE OBJECT CARRIER FOR WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Feb. 4, 1955 IN V EN TOR.

y W I v H 2,742,141 I OBJECT ennui FoRiwRAPPm'GMAcHINE cittgen go unet East' liongmeadow, Mass. assignor to Wrap King Corporation, Holyoke; Massg a corporation of Mass'achusetts" Atheists man 4, 1955, Serial some;

' zonin (or; 198-210) Thisfinventionrelates to, improvements in wrapping machines and issdirected more. particularly toimprove ments in'carriers forobjects to be wrapped.

The novelfeatures ofthejinvention are directed to the provision of a carrier for receiving and gripping'anoh- 'jectganda wrappertherefor which is adapted to rotate from .receiving to disehar ging ,positions and vice vversa in onniew' apper for fol'dirigthe same.

Thenovel carrier is ad aptedfor use in connection with vaiiouslobjects but is particularly adapted for receiving aiwrapp'er and an objectsuchjasa head of lettuce which is" somewhat frangible and variable" in its dimensions.

The apparatus of the invention ischaracterii'ed by a support which may be rotated on a verticaliaxis and which is provided with circumferentially spaced" vertically disposed pockets.i.,The poclretsare arranged so that a head of lettuce with a section of wrapping material on the'top thereof may be inserted upwardly through a lowp H cket'andthereinto' in itsreceivingiposition. support may be'rotated'in a step-by-step manner an e'fpocke't's' areprovided'with gripping means which V yie l'diiigly grip the wrapper and head of lettuce In the stepby-step rotation of the pockets, wrapper manipulating mechanism may operate on portions of a wrapper depending from the pockets and, as the pockets move step-by-step to a discharge position the grippers areoperated to release awrapped object. 7

All of the above objects, I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangements of parts thereof, as

willfully appear by a perusal of the description below Fig. 1 is a plan view of a carrier embodying the novel features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevational sectional viewon the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of one of the pockets of the apparatus shown having an object gripping plate in association therewith; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the supportand cam of the apparatus.

'Referring to the drawings more in detaeil, the invention will be fully described.

A support 2 in the form of a plate has a hub 4 which is fixed toa hollow vertical shaft 6. A cam shaft 8 is journalled in a bearing 10 in the hollow shaft 6 and has a cam 12 fixed to the upper end thereof. The hollow pf, manner for the operation of means to act' shaft may be rotatedpin a step-by-step manner andthecam shaft may be oscillated back and forth relative thereto;

Pockets 161 areprovidedwhich aretubular forn'i and; are provided with lugs;18 which are-secured tothe- I support 2 in such'a manner that ;the;pocketss are spaced.

cireumferentially, The sides of the. pockets are 'cut away; as at120- for: the operation of grippers, as will appear. a i a A plurality of post s 24 have lower ends secured to the support .2. ,Saidr'posts are circumferentially spaced andv extend-upwardlywertically from the. support 2;

A pair of 'gripperarms-including primarytand. second;

ary arms 26 and 28 are provided-foreach, pocket and are pivoted on adjacent posts 24. The, arms of the-pairs thereof carry on outer ends gripper, plates. 30. The plates 31 of the pairs thereof are relativelyrconcaved on inner adjacent faces. Collars 24 are fixed to upper endsof the posts 24.

The levers 26 and 28 of each pair thereof are pro:

vided with arm portions 26' and 287 which carry intermeshing gear teeth 34, see Fig. 2.

I Cam follower arms ,36 are alsopivoted onthe posts. 24. These arms 36 aredisposed immediately over the: levers ,26, there being one such arrn36 for eachpocket' andeach pair of arms 26. and;28.' Said arms- 36. are

provided with slots; as,- shown, and screws or bolts.38. extend. therethrough and are threaded. engagement with;

the arms z therebelow. The arins 36: and arms.26.

maybe angularly adjustedrelativeto one another. Cam

mussels-e provided on. outer. ends of the arms ,36.

The: plates :30 inner; ends of outwardly extending posite ends securedto theouter ends of'the aaehers'qt.

so thatthe plates and armsiof the pairs thereof 'are'u'rged serted iiia pocket will be yieldin'g'ly gripped:

The cam 12 has an edge portion 13 for open position of the grippers and an edge portion 15 for closed position thereof.

In describing the operation of the apparatus, it will be assumed that the shaft 6 is rotated counterclockwise in a step-bystep manner although it may be so rotated in an opposite direction. 7

The receiving position of the pockets may be represented by R, in Fig. 1. A head of lettuce with a wrapper on the upper side thereof may be inserted upwardly in a pocket in the receiving position thereof.

The cam 12 may be oscillated clockwise so that the gripper levers and plates 30 swing towards one another to grip the wrapper and object. The support may be rotated step-by-step either simultaneously with the action of the grippers or slightly thereafter. The relative timing of the operation of the cam and step-bystep rotation may be as desired.

As the carrier is rotated in a step-by-step manner,

mechanisms may act on wrapper portions depending from the pockets.

The step-by-step movement brings the pockets to a discharge position which is represented by D, in Fig. 1. In this position, oscillating movement of the cam 12 brings about a separating movement of the gripper plates 30 to release a wrapped object.

It will be noted that one arm of the pairs thereof of adjacent pockets are pivoted on the same post 24 for simplicity and compactness in construction. Also to that end, the simultaneous movement of the arms of a pair is brought about by the cam actuation of one arm of the pair. The arms of each pair are arranged for simultaneous movement relative to movementof other pairs of arms. The arms of the pairs thereof are urged towards one another for gripping an object except for the cam which is arranged according to its position to position the arms in releasing position. a

The relative position of cam arms 36 and gripper arms26 may be adjusted so as to vary the relation of the gripper plates in gripping and releasing position thereof.

While I have illustrated and described the invention as embodied in a specific arrangement, I do not intend to be limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the invention.

, of the United States is:

1. Wrapping machine apparatus for receiving and gripping and releasing objects comprising, a support, a cam rotatable on a vertical axis relative to said support and having a peripheral cam edge, a plurality of posts extending vertically upwardly from and spaced equidistant peripherally of said support, a plurality of pairs of pocket forming members having outer ends arranged for gripping objects in closed positions and for receiving and releasgripping and releasing objects comprising, a support, a

ing objects in open positions and having inner ends jour- 30 cam rotatable on a vertical axis relative to said support and having a peripheral cam edge, a plurality of posts extending vertically upwardly from and spaced equidistant peripherally of said support, a plurality of pairs of pocket formingmembers having outer ends arranged for gripping objects in closed positions and for receiving and releasing objects in open positions and having inner ends journalled on said posts, adjacent members of adjacent pairs. of said pocket forming members being journalled on thesame posts for the swinging of the members of said pairs thereof between said open and closed positions, said pocket forming members being provided with arm portions having intermeshing teeth for effecting simultaneous swinging movements of the arm portions and of the members "of said pairs of pocket forming members, a cam follower arm for each of said pairs of pocket forming members having an inner end pivoted on one of said posts and having means at its outer end engageable with the cam edge of said cam for actuating the arms of said pair, with one of the pocket members of each of said pairs thereof being disposedon a post above and adjacent a pocket member of an adjacent of said pairs thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 870,280 Gallagher Nov. 5, 1907 977,632 Hoyt Dec. 6, 1910 1,619,729 Howard Mar. 1, 1927 2,349,638 'Schreiber May 23, 1944 2,650,634 Younget a1. Sept. 1, 1953 

